The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup kicks off in Cape Town on 10 February, and we have the rundown on everything you need to know. Host Carl Lewis chats with cricket writer Daniel Gallan and Raf Nicholson ahead of the showpiece.
South Africa are set to host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time since the tournament’s inception, with play taking place from 10 to 26 February in Cape Town, Paarl and Gqeberha.
The Proteas Women will be joined by nine teams all vying for their chance at glory, with the line-up led by defending champions, Australia.
Australia
Undoubtedly the favourites, Australia head into the 2023 edition ranked number one in the ICC Women’s T20 rankings. The women from Down Under have won the T20 World Cup a record five times in the seven editions it has been played, including the last time out in 2020.
Australia have featured in every final since the inaugural 2009 edition, with their sole loss against West Indies in 2016, and they are also the only side in the competition’s history to have reached the semifinals or better in every edition of the tournament.
England
Ranked number two in the world, England won the inaugural 2009 edition of the tournament, where they put on a dominant display in the final against New Zealand to secure the title in front of a home crowd.
Although they have yet to repeat their heroics of 2009, the English women have advanced past the group stages all but once in the tournament’s history. During that time, they reached the finals in 2012, 2014 and 2018. However, they lost out on all three occasions to Australia.
New Zealand
New Zealand got their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup career off to a flying start by reaching the finals of the 2009 and 2010 editions, losing to England and Australia, respectively.
Notably, New Zealand lost the 2010 final by just three runs after falling short in a dramatic run chase. The Black Caps then reached the semifinals of the 2012 edition in Sri Lanka.
However, since then it hasn’t been plain sailing. The third-ranked side in the world have only reached the semifinals in one of the last four editions, and they enter the 2023 edition on the back of two consecutive group stage knockouts.
India
Ranked fourth in the world, India began their T20 World Cup career with back-to-back semifinal appearances in 2009 and 2010. However, they followed it up with a string of three group stage knockouts.
In 2018, the Indian women rediscovered their form by reaching the semifinals, and they followed it up by making the finals of the 2020 edition, where they lost to a dominant Australian team.
West Indies
Despite being ranked sixth in the world, West Indies are one of only three teams to ever win the T20 World Cup. After three consecutive semifinal appearances, the Windies women pulled off a victory against Australia in the final of the 2016 edition, while captain Stafanie Taylor was named Player of the Tournament. That was the only time the Australian women have lost in the final of the T20 World Cup in six appearances.
The West Indies followed up their 2016 triumph with a semifinal showing at home in 2018. And although they were knocked out in the group stages in 2020, they have proven time and time again that they cannot be overlooked in the T20 format.
Pakistan
Ranked seventh in the world and having featured in every edition since the tournament’s inception, Pakistan have never advanced past the group stages and have won just seven of their 28 matches in the competition.
Sri Lanka
Eighth-ranked Sri Lanka, who hosted the tournament in 2012, have also featured in every edition of the tournament and are yet to advance past the group stages.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh first qualified for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2014 and have featured in every edition since. Ranked ninth in the world, they have never advanced past the group stages and have won just two of their 17 matches in the competition.
They hold the unfortunate record of the lowest team score in the tournament’s history, when they were bundled out for 46 against the West Indies in 2018.
Ireland
The 10th-ranked side in the world, Ireland have featured in three previous editions of the T20 World Cup, although their record leaves something to be desired. The Irish women have not won a match at the tournament in 13 attempts and will be looking to break their duck when the 2023 edition gets underway in South Africa.
